German Institute, BASF to Collaborate on Batteries

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Karlsruhe, Germany and the chemical company BASF in Ludwigshafen will develop advanced battery materials at a new KIT lab. The new lab, called BELLA — for Batteries and Electrochemistry Laboratory — is expected to accelerate the implementation of research results in products for high-energy battery systems.

KIT and BASF plan to focus on increasing the service life of batteries with high storage capacity materials. Safety of battery systems will also be explored. Both partners are expected to invest in BELLA about €12 million over the next five years.

The development of high-performance battery systems is considered a key challenge for future electro-mobility and integration of renewable energies. In the first joint projects, scientists are studying materials and components for future battery generations. Ceramic ion conductors is one of the materials expected to be developed for use as a protective layer in these batteries.

Read more: Nanomaterial to Boost Lithium-Ion Battery Performance

Photo: Les Chatfield/Flickr

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